“Goodnight, sweetheart,” Kara murmured to her daughter. Alicia lay quietly beneath her rose-colored velvet duvet, her hand tucked under a matching pillow.
“Mom...” Alicia’s voice trailed off. She bit her lip nervously, her gaze fixed on the wall in front of her.
“Yes, sweetie?” Kara paused in the doorway, turning to look at her innocent daughter.
“Who is the Prime Elder, and why is he so important?” Alicia asked. Her gaze never left the wall.
“Like our Elder said,” Kara explained. “He rules over all Followers, just like our Elder, but he’s much more powerful. Do you understand? He’s the head of the entire Tribe, not just of a single Family.”
“Sort of. Is he a bad guy? Why haven’t you and Dad ever mentioned him before?” Alicia’s brows furrowed, her eyes darting with the restlessness of her Inner Voice.
“Well, he’s not the best person, but I can’t judge someone I’ve never met. We haven’t mentioned him because there was never a reason to. Now, goodnight sweetheart, sleep tight.” Kara’s words were final.
Alicia didn’t get a chance to ask more. Her mother swiftly turned off the light and closed the door behind her.
“The Prime Elder,” she whispered to herself. Her eyes began to droop, exhaustion suddenly overwhelming her small body.
"Tina, did you make it to the meeting yesterday?" Alicia asked her best friend. Tina flicked a curl of her dark brown hair behind her ear and nodded.
"I did. I went with my brother and father. My mother couldn’t come because she exhausted herself from breaking free in the woods.” Tina had a habit of sharing random information when she didn’t know what else to say. Alicia knew that while the inner voice usually remained inside, it was still part of them— and it wants freedom, too. When a Follower became too emotionally stressed or overwhelmed, their inner voice could Break Free and take control of their body, pushing their main personality into the back of their mind for some time.
Her parents were reluctant to share this sort of information with her, and she often found out through Tina.
"I can’t believe a powerful Prime Elder is visiting our Family today. It’s so exciting,” Alicia said, bouncing in her seat. Tina’s face fell, and she looked at Alicia as if she’d sprouted a third eye.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Alicia asked, her cheeks flushing. Tina let out a sigh.
“Didn’t your parents tell you about the Prime Elder’s ‘hobbies’ and personality?” Tina asked cautiously. Alicia froze, realizing she knew nothing about the man visiting their Family.
“No.”
“Well, his hobbies include anything that starts and ends with murder. He’s the most powerful of our kind, and apparently...” Tina leaned in closer to Alicia, who was both shocked and repulsed by this revelation.
“Apparently, he wasn’t blessed with a Pair like the rest of us. He’s a grown man, and we’ve never heard of him being with anyone. Also, he has a terrible personality, or so I’ve heard,” Tina continued. Again, she was over-sharing, but Alicia welcomed it, as her parents would never tell her the straight-up truth like this. Tina’s eyes narrowed as she spoke, her voice tinged with unease.
“What’s he like?” Alicia asked. Her eyes were wide, her face pale. Her father had partially been right. She’d been sheltered for so long that she couldn’t handle anything out of the ordinary.
“Maybe... maybe he’s not like that. We shouldn’t believe every rumor we hear, especially if we don’t even know the man,” Alicia said, her voice shaky, trying to remain her optimistic self. She crossed her arms over her chest to stop them from trembling, but she couldn’t stop her face from paling in fear.
“Alicia, he’s our Prime Elder. The leader of the entire Tribe. I’m sure he’s seen horrors. It’s no surprise there’s not an ounce of humanity left in him. I wouldn’t expect anything different, to be honest.” Alicia chewed on her bottom lip, staring at her freshly painted light pink toes.
Tina saw the shock on Alicia’s face and instantly regretted sharing so much with her unsuspecting best friend.
“Maybe... maybe I shouldn’t have told you all of that,” Tina murmured, but Alicia still heard her and quickly shook her head, her eyes wide with surprise.
“No! I’m glad you did. Without you, I would be in the dark. I wouldn’t have known any of what you just told me.”
“Ugh, I’m such a blabbermouth. Maybe it was for the best that your parents kept it from you. I don’t think you were ready for all of this, Alicia,” Tina said, her voice filled with unease as she rubbed her best friend’s back.
“It wasn’t for the best! I would have been the only one excited for his visit, and everyone would question my sanity... My parents coddle me, Tina, I don’t need you to do the same.”
Tina sighed, realizing that Alicia had a point—she wasn’t a child anymore, and withholding this information wouldn’t have been right.
“Alright, I just don’t want you to start panicking,” Tina said softly, her eyes taking in Alicia’s tired look.
Alicia sighed, rubbing her temples. Her face was paler than usual, and Tina noticed the change immediately.
“Too late...” Alicia joked, trying to lighten the mood. But Tina’s frown was enough to plunge them back into unease.
^^
^^
“What are you going to wear for the meeting?” Kara asked her daughter, who was sitting quietly on the edge of her bed.
Alicia shrugged. There was a storm brewing in her green eyes, and her mother noticed it right away.
“What's wrong, sweetheart?” Kara asked, walking over to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.
“Mom... Is he coming here to hurt us?” Alicia asked, her eyes wide and her brows furrowed with worry.
“What? Who?” her mother asked, confused, as she looked at her daughter curiously.
“The Prime Elder.”
“What? Why would he hurt anyone?” Kara’s voice wavered, despite her best efforts to sound composed. Discussing the dangerous Prime Elder was a topic that always made her uneasy.
After about ten minutes, Alicia emerged from the bathroom, fully dressed. She was surprised to find her mother still in her room. “Mom, why are you still here? Don’t you need to get ready too?” She glanced at her mother’s simple attire, whereas she would have normally donned something beautiful and chic.
“I... I just wanted to see the outfit you chose. It’s lovely. Now, I’ll go... uh, goodbye,” Kara stammered, before hastily exiting her daughter’s room.
“Weird,” Alicia muttered to herself. She took a deep breath and shook her head. Looking down at her outfit, she couldn’t help but smile. She had chosen a silk, pale blue sundress that hugged her figure just right and ended mid-thigh. She paired it with the designer white ballet flats she got on her seventeenth birthday; though she wasn’t as materialistic as most Followers, she loved every gift her parents gave her.
Turning to face her round mirror, she decided to tame her wild auburn hair into a bun. With her hair taken care of, she applied a touch of blush to her tan cheeks, a bit of lip balm to her lips, and a dash of mascara to her already long lashes. “That’s all,” she declared, returning the last of her makeup to her marble vanity before leaving her room.
“Come on, girls! We have to go!” Her father’s voice echoed through the house, laced with unease. Alicia noticed, but chose to remain silent as she joined him at the bottom of the staircase.
“Well, don’t you look beautiful, sweetheart.” Alicia blushed at her father’s compliment and bowed her head slightly, causing him to chuckle.
“And there’s my gorgeous Pair,” Jonathan announced as Kara descended the stairs. Alicia turned to see her mother. Like her, Kara was wearing a silk sundress, though hers was red and fell just below her knees. She had paired it with nude pumps and her hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail. Simple gold jewelry shimmered on her ears and neck.
“Jonathan.” Kara blushed and shook her head. Alicia remained silent, a fact that went unnoticed by her parents as they all left their house in silence.
Alicia felt a bubble of frustration rise from her Inner Voice, knowing that her parents were discussing the situation quietly, so as to prevent her from hearing. She wanted to know what they were discussing, but they kept her in the dark, as usual. As they entered the massive Tribal House, filled with loud chatter and a palpable sense of unrest, they kept her out of their conversation.
